According to Putin, economic growth would be facilitated by reducing the share of state-owned businesses in the country’s economy.

The first step would be to privatise those banks who were rescued by the central bank during the global recession.

He said:

We have not reached the necessary level in terms of people’s well-being.

On defence and invincible missiles

Meanwhile, Russia has developed an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) called Sarmat to replace ageing missiles and a hyper-sonic missile called Kinzhal which can be launched from an aircraft or nuclear warhead and destroys anti-aircraft systems.

Putin said he could “reach anywhere in the world”.

A video demonstrating the defence tech described the missile as a “low-flying, difficult-to-spot cruise missile… with a practically unlimited range and an unpredictable flight path, which can bypass lines of interception and is invincible in the face of all existing and future systems of both missile defence and air defence”.

The country has also developed a nuclear reactor that can be mounted on a sea-launched or air-launched cruise missile to boost its range and an underwater drone which can counter enemy aircraft carriers and attack shoreline defences.

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On living standards and development

Putin also revealed plans for Russia’s urban development based on modern technology, especially in the architecture, transport and communication sectors, aiding rural development.

Putin pledged to double the amount of money spent on developing infrastructure. Strategic state-assisted investments were predicted to be the main source of economic growth in the next few years.

Russia has been using icebreakers in the Arctic to mine oil and gas and Putin said it was important for Russia to have the strongest nuclear icebreaker fleet in the world.